adminKOTA KINABALU, June 13 (Bernama) — The Sabah Journalists Association (SJA) has proposed that the Sabah state government establish a media buying fund to help create a fair and mutually beneficial economic ecosystem with media organisations in the state.
Its president Mariah Doksil said the proposal should be considered as ministries and government agencies regularly issue press releases and invite journalists to cover their programmes.
“If the free news space provided by the media is calculated over a one-year period, the value of the publicity could amount to millions of ringgit.
“The return on investment received by media organisations is currently quite small compared with the large amount of funds invested in content creators and influencers,” she said at the Kinabalu Press Awards (KPA) 2026, officiated by Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, who represented Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
Mariah, who is also a board member of the Malaysian Media Council, said that the proposal was made in view of the financial sustainability challenges currently facing mainstream media organisations.
She said that current market trends have seen corporate advertising funds, once the lifeblood of newsrooms, now largely shifted towards social media platforms.
“At the same time, the market situation is worsening as the majority of the public prefers to read or access online news for free, but is reluctant to pay for newspaper subscriptions.
“Why can we spend RM10 on a matcha drink a day, but find it very difficult to subscribe to a newspaper for RM1.50 a day, when good journalism requires high costs?” she said.
Mariah added that producing quality and authentic news requires significant time and financial resources to support journalists in conducting research, verifying facts and sourcing information, as well as ensuring their safety and welfare.
She also highlighted the different roles in the digital information space, saying content creators can produce and upload content quickly to gain attention, while journalists are bound by ethical responsibilities that require careful verification and editing.
Therefore, Mariah called on media practitioners in Sabah to embrace digital transformation by seriously exploring mobile journalism (MOJO) to remain relevant to community needs.
To drive this initiative, she said that the MOJO Awards will be introduced for the first time at KPA 2027, giving journalists sufficient time to plan their creative reports.
KPA 2026 made history after receiving 354 entries, up from 268 the previous year.
–BERNAMA
